RIM buys Astonishing Tribe design outfit

Research in Motion, the Canadian company behind BlackBerry smart phones, has acquired whacky design outfit The Astonishing Tribe (TAT).

TAT is well known for it's innovative and slightly off-the-wall mobile user interfaces based on XML and using 3D animations and OpenGL ES shaders.

The company has also designed custom home screens for the Android mobile operating system as well as a host of scalable cross-platform widgets.

David Yach, Chief Technology Officer at RIM said, "Today we are pleased to confirm plans for The Astonishing Tribe team to join Research In Motion. We’re excited that the TAT team will be joining RIM and bringing their talent to the BlackBerry PlayBook and smart phone platforms.

"TAT is renowned for [its] innovative mobile user interface designs and has a long history of working with mobile and embedded technology. TAT focuses on delivering great user experiences, from a design, technology, and usability perspective. Their design technology is used today in a variety of industries including the consumer electronics and automotive sectors."

Further details of the deal were not offered but both companies have made announcements on their respective web sites.

You'll get a better idea of what TAT is all about by visiting the company's web site or check out the video below, which is rather speculative, but interesting all the same.